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USS Appling (APA-58)
Encyclopedia
USS Appling (APA-58) was a Gilliam-class
attack transport
that served with the US Navy
during World War II
.
Appling was laid down under a Maritime Commission
contract (MC hull 1851) at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation
; launched on 9 April 1944; sponsored by famed moving picture actress, Claudette Colbert
; and simultaneously acquired by the Navy and placed in commission on 22 August 1944, Lieutenant Commander Alexander Lunde Stuart in command.
coast, Appling sailed for Finschhafen
, New Guinea
, on 17 October. She was forced to stop at Purvis Bay
, Florida Island, for engine repairs, but finally reached Finschhafen on 14 November. The ship then carried out training exercises in Humboldt Bay.
. Appling sortied for the Philippines
on 3 January 1945 with Task Group 77.9, a part of the Luzon
invasion force. She anchored in the Lingayen Gulf
transport area on 11 January and began discharging troops east of San Fabian
. Later that evening, the transport joined other ships in splashing an enemy aircraft 2,000 yards off her starboard quarter. The next day, she retired to Leyte Gulf
.
Appling arrived off that island early on 1 April and, at 0605, began lowering her boats, which were used by troops from other vessels. Appling debarked her own troops from 3 to 7 April and then retired to Kerama Retto
. She served as a receiving ship there until the 12th, when she returned to Okinawa. On the 14th, the ship got underway for Hawaii
.
Following a brief stop at Saipan
, Appling reached Pearl Harbor
on 2 May and, the next day, sailed for the United States
. The ship arrived at San Pedro, California, on the 10th, and began voyage repairs. On 7 June, she proceeded to San Diego, California
, for refresher training.
The ship set sail on 16 June for Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands
, and continued on to Guam
in mid-July. She then reversed her course and returned to the west coast
. Appling reached San Francisco on 29 July.
. Following a stop at Guam, she moved to Saipan where she took on elements of the 2nd Marine Division scheduled for occupation duties in Japan
.
On 23 September, Appling arrived at Nagasaki in company with other units of TransRon 12. Five days later, the ship sailed to the Philippines and carried troops from Subic Bay
and Manila
to Sasebo, Japan. Appling left Sasebo on 19 October and set a course back to the United States carrying homecoming veterans.
The transport arrived at Portland, Oreg., on 27 November for upkeep. Appling sailed back to the Philippines in early January 1946 to carry more troops home to the United States. The ship left Philippine waters on 4 February and transited to Pearl Harbor.
, tests at Bikini Atoll
in the Marshall Islands to determine the effects of atomic bomb explosions upon ships. Appling arrived at Bikini on 2 June and operated in the area of that atoll through 15 August, but was never utilized as a target.
After touching at Pearl Harbor on the 15th, the ship continued on to the west coast for a series of radiological
clearance tests held at San Francisco and San Pedro, California. She touched at Port Hueneme, California, on 26 September, to take on cargo for transportation to Pearl Harbor. However, before the ship was loaded, she was ordered to proceed to the east coast for deactivation.
on 22 November and arrived in Norfolk, Virginia
, on 30 November. She was decommissioned on 20 December 1946 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
, Portsmouth, Virginia
. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 4 April 1947, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 31 March 1948.
The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
until 9 September 1954, when she was consigned to the Arrow Steamship Company. She was returned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet on 12 December 1954 and was berthed in the James River
. The ship was ultimately sold for scrapping.
Gilliam class attack transport
The Gilliam-class attack transport was a class of attack transport built for service with the US Navy in World War II.Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Gilliams was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of...
attack transport
Attack transport
Attack Transport is a United States Navy ship classification.-History:In the early 1940s, as the United States Navy expanded in response to the threat of involvement in World War II, a number of civilian passenger ships and some freighters were acquired, converted to transports and given hull...
that served with the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Appling was laid down under a Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
contract (MC hull 1851) at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
; launched on 9 April 1944; sponsored by famed moving picture actress, Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
; and simultaneously acquired by the Navy and placed in commission on 22 August 1944, Lieutenant Commander Alexander Lunde Stuart in command.
World War II
Following shakedown training off the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast, Appling sailed for Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, on 17 October. She was forced to stop at Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay is located in the Florida Islands, which are part of the Solomon Islands. The bay was used by the US Navy during World War Two....
, Florida Island, for engine repairs, but finally reached Finschhafen on 14 November. The ship then carried out training exercises in Humboldt Bay.
Invasion of Luzon
On 25 December, the ship embarked troops of the 6th Army at HollandiaJayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
. Appling sortied for the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
on 3 January 1945 with Task Group 77.9, a part of the Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
invasion force. She anchored in the Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
transport area on 11 January and began discharging troops east of San Fabian
San Fabián
San Fabián is one of 21 communes in the Ñuble Province of central Chile's Biobío Region. The capital is the town of San Fabián de Alico. The commune spans an area of .-Administration:...
. Later that evening, the transport joined other ships in splashing an enemy aircraft 2,000 yards off her starboard quarter. The next day, she retired to Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
.
Invasion of Okinawa
During the next two months, the ship remained in the waters of Leyte Gulf carrying out training exercises. Late in March, she took on cargo and personnel earmarked for Operation "Iceberg," the assault on the Ryukyus. On 27 March, the ship left with Transport Squadron (TransRon) 13 of the Southern Assault Force, bound for Okinawa.Appling arrived off that island early on 1 April and, at 0605, began lowering her boats, which were used by troops from other vessels. Appling debarked her own troops from 3 to 7 April and then retired to Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
. She served as a receiving ship there until the 12th, when she returned to Okinawa. On the 14th, the ship got underway for Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Following a brief stop at Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Appling reached Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 2 May and, the next day, sailed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The ship arrived at San Pedro, California, on the 10th, and began voyage repairs. On 7 June, she proceeded to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, for refresher training.
The ship set sail on 16 June for Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, and continued on to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in mid-July. She then reversed her course and returned to the west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. Appling reached San Francisco on 29 July.
After hostilities
After almost a month of repairs - during which hostilities ended - Appling got underway on 28 August and headed, via Eniwetok, for the MarianasMariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. Following a stop at Guam, she moved to Saipan where she took on elements of the 2nd Marine Division scheduled for occupation duties in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
On 23 September, Appling arrived at Nagasaki in company with other units of TransRon 12. Five days later, the ship sailed to the Philippines and carried troops from Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
to Sasebo, Japan. Appling left Sasebo on 19 October and set a course back to the United States carrying homecoming veterans.
The transport arrived at Portland, Oreg., on 27 November for upkeep. Appling sailed back to the Philippines in early January 1946 to carry more troops home to the United States. The ship left Philippine waters on 4 February and transited to Pearl Harbor.
Operation Crossroads
Appling was next assigned to the target fleet for Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, tests at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in the Marshall Islands to determine the effects of atomic bomb explosions upon ships. Appling arrived at Bikini on 2 June and operated in the area of that atoll through 15 August, but was never utilized as a target.
After touching at Pearl Harbor on the 15th, the ship continued on to the west coast for a series of radiological
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
clearance tests held at San Francisco and San Pedro, California. She touched at Port Hueneme, California, on 26 September, to take on cargo for transportation to Pearl Harbor. However, before the ship was loaded, she was ordered to proceed to the east coast for deactivation.
Decommission
Appling transited the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 22 November and arrived in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on 30 November. She was decommissioned on 20 December 1946 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
, Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 4 April 1947, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 31 March 1948.
The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
until 9 September 1954, when she was consigned to the Arrow Steamship Company. She was returned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet on 12 December 1954 and was berthed in the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
. The ship was ultimately sold for scrapping.